Veiled gravid????

I am new to chams (Though I have had many iguanas)
I recently got a pair of veiled, they have been housed together in a 100gal flex. I was told that they have bred and she is gravid. (Though her colour is still bright green)
first, I have since seperated them as everything I have read says DO NOT house them together and they seemed to really have huge arguements since about the 3rd day I had them. (I moved him to a 175gal flex)
She is still in the 100 gal with a large bucket of play sand in case she is gravid. Thought that moving her may be to stressful.
The few questions I have..

1) Every pic I have seen shows a colourful female.. yet mine is solid green and she just gets dark spots when upset or sometimes the light blue specks. Would you say she is gravid?

2) did I do right by placing them in seperate housing?

3) She prefers wax worms and is very hard to get her to eat crickets. I was worried about her eating enough if she is gravid. (which I really don't think)

4) any other advice anyone can give?

I have chosen this thread thinking if she is gravid one of the more experienced members can help.

I really welcome advice as I just want to do best by my new family members.

TIA
MsBrit

You did the right think by separating them if they are not getting along. Nice big enlosures also. Some females will not show gravid coloration, but since she was in with the male I am suprised she was not black! As long as you put the bucket with sand in there and give her her privacy all you can do is wait. Pictures are great for forum members to help you. I would really try to get her off of the waxworms(too much fat)-silkworms, superworms, and crickets as you already know are much better. If you answer these questions people can get a better idea of the aspects of your husbandry and offer suggestions.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - What kind of cage are you using? What is the size?
Lighting - What kind of lighting are you using? How long do you keep the lights on during the day?
Temperature - What temperature range have you created? Basking spot temp? What is the temperature at night?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Location - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas?

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What kind of schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What are you dusting your feeders with and what kind of schedule do you use?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.

Thanks for your response.. I will answer the questions to the best of my ability.

Cage Info:Cage Type - I have them both in a Flexarium that has plastic sheet 3/4 of the height and around three sides. The sizes are. Male 76 x 76 x 122cm (30" x 30" x 48") 662 litre, 175 Gallon The female is 76 x 42 x 122cm (30" x 16.5" x 48") 378 litre, 100 Gallon

Lighting - Both have the same lighting just his has a low full spec as well as the one up top. Night lighting is Exo Terra Night Glo Moonlight Lamp 50W the day Exo Terra Repti Glo Fluorescent Bulb 5.0 Series. This is the one that I have in fact placed two in his cage. One on top and one about midway.

Temperature - I have the basking spot at 93 and the rest of the cage is at about 80-83 with the temp lowering by about 10 degrees at night.

Humidity - The humidity normally runs about 30-60 I keep a plasctic cup that drips (over the ficus) and I spray 4x's a day (I am now a SAHM)

Plants - I have three large plants in each a very tall pothos (on a moss pole), a small pothos and a ficus in each.

Location - I did have them in the living room (when they were together) now she is rehomed upstairs in the master bedroom and he is in the living room (not a high traffic area)

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - Yemen Male 18 months (approx) and Yemen Female 18 Months (approx)

Feeding - I gut load my crickets and mealworms on spinich leaves and zuchini as well as the bug grub. He has about 6 large crickets a day she has 4 med crickets (if I am lucky) and about 2-3 wax worms a day. I am going to pick her up some silkworms when I finish posting.

Supplements - I dust them with Nutrobal

Watering - They have a fresh water supply placed in the cage daily. They both drink the mist from the top mesh and the leaves and she loves to drink from the water bowl. hehe

Fecal Description - Both have darek brom to black fecal not wet but not rock hard. hers tends to go a bit lighter (due to the wax worms I am guessing) Neither have to much odor and they are both regular

History - As they are both new to me.. I can't give much history.. they have been housed together since the chap got them both. He did obtain them from opposite sides of the country so they weren't related. He kept them togetehr int he 100gal flex until I got them. No health probs or any egg laying by her (so he says and I have no reason to doubt him)

Current Problem - I am worried about her as the chap told me she was gravid yet her colours are not showing the darkness and she seems rather small and doesn't look to be with egg. It would be about 30 days ago that they bred.

and most of all I just wanted to make sure I was doing things right.

Here are a few pics of both chams and her flex. I will get pics of his flex later today or tomorrow.

He is shedding so please mind his dull tone.. he broke into a full shed a few hours after this pic was taken.

Her enclosure.. sorry a bit tilted.. tried to get a good shot of it. You can see her bucket of sand hidden behind the plant.


Here she is.. just gets a bit aggitated when she sees the camara come out so had to get one of her on the move. hehe Dont want to stress her.


Here is my little guy.. he was starting to shed and is the middle of a full shed now. bless his heart.

I am concerned about a couple of things:
1. No lights should be inside the enclosure
2. No compact fluorescents should be used
3. night time heat is not necessary (60 to 65 degrees f. for night)

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

Brad Ramsey said:

I am concerned about a couple of things:
1. No lights should be inside the enclosure
2. No compact fluorescents should be used
3. night time heat is not necessary (60 to 65 degrees f. for night)

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

Click to expand...

Thanks.. I have kept the lights how they were when I got them. Would they be better to have them on the top? (As everyone here says put them indies. :/)

what is the best UV lighting then? (as I am new I do want what is best.)

I was told to have the night bulb in for at least 8 hours.. something about they mimic the moon?? is this not necessary?

Other then those three things.. How is the setup?

Changing them now. Thanks so much!!!!

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/lights-and-lighting.html

They couldn't care less about the moon since they are asleep at night.

-Brad

No compact fluroescents? You do mean the compact UVB bulbs, right?

Regular compact coils are great for providing plain light, especially if you don't happen to have a tube fixture.

I have taken the night glo out (the screw in on the right) and have moved the basking light to the top and secured it on a base that sits on top now.

The uv I currently use is (the one that was sitting on top) it is the Exo Terra Repti Glo Fluorescent Bulb 5.0. I was told this can work properly through the flexarium mesh. Is this accurate?
I have looked into your site. (Very informative) I am just a bit unsure if the light is considered a compact or not.

Many Thanks as I have done alot of research and want what is best for my chams.

The compact is a curly screw in bulb.
What you want is a linear fluorescent tube.
The Repti-sun 5.0 (or 10.0 for the flexarium) from ZooMed.

-Brad

I dont have a curly screw in bulb for my UV. I have the long florescent one on top.

The two hanging were a day basking and a night glo. I have since removed the night glo and placed the basking lamp securly on top about 2 inches from the top of the flex (as to not burn the mesh).

any other suggestions/ comments on the setup?

How do the two chams look?

many thanks

Excellent.

Does she have a branch leading directly into the bucket?
The sand should be damp so that she can dig a tunnel that will not collapse on her. Think of how you would want it to be to build sand castles.
Her appetite issues could be due to her laying soon. Does she look fat and lumpy? Can you see the shape of eggs pushing out on her lower abdomen?
It needs to be very private for her when she lays.

His casque is quite small and irregular, could he have gotten a burn at some point or suffered from MBD ?
His limbs look okay in the picture.
Does he hold himself up properly? Is he very active?

-Brad

He is very active and a superb eater.

As I got these guys less then a month ago.. I am not sure if he had a burn or not. The basking light had been in his cage so that is poss. His limbs are all straight and I haven't seen any abnormalities in them or down his back.

She doesn't appear to be large at all!! Her abdomen seems rather slim maybe a bit of bulge but not much. and I don't see any lumps. I have put a very large tub with moist sand in it. It is closed over by ficus limbs and she has the ability to get into it. It is rather secluded for her and in a quiet bedroom now.

Thanks for all your help on this. I just want to do what is right and unfortunatly you tend to get conflicting info when trying to read through different websites. I say first hand exp is best.

You're doing a great job!
These chams are lucky you found them!
Stick with the forums here, we look forward to hearing about their progress.

-Brad

Thanks so much Brad! I feel as if they are another one of my children.

I shall go nowhere and will let you know how we get on. I will be taking additional pics later tonight or tomorrow to show you the new setup with the lights and also some of his enclosure.

She has started getting the light blue speckles.. everything I have read says that means she is receptive (though I have no intention of breeding them.. at least not until I know what is up with him and her) I am just hoping this means she isn't with eggs and I can work on getting some weight on her. (she is very skinny and appears underwieght)

Thanks for all your time and posts today.

Warmest Regards
Monica

my question to you is about the lighting . you said that you have a repti-glo 5.0 tube. do you know how long it has been used for? they need to be changed a minimum of every 6 months because the UV output dissipates and is no longer effective. if you are unsure, i would do what others have suggested and go out and buy yourself a new one. the recommended bulb is by zoomed, and either the 5.0 or the 10.0 will be sufficient (depending on how close your chameleons can get to it (8-12" is best). this way you can be sure that they will not get MBD. it looks as though your females femur bones may have a slight curve, and it could be showing the beginning stages of metabolic bone disease. hopefully it has not led to any complications!

other than that, everything looks great and you will learn a lot from these sites!

DarkRapture said:

my question to you is about the lighting . you said that you have a repti-glo 5.0 tube. do you know how long it has been used for? they need to be changed a minimum of every 6 months because the UV output dissipates and is no longer effective. if you are unsure, i would do what others have suggested and go out and buy yourself a new one. the recommended bulb is by zoomed, and either the 5.0 or the 10.0 will be sufficient (depending on how close your chameleons can get to it (8-12" is best). this way you can be sure that they will not get MBD. it looks as though your females femur bones may have a slight curve, and it could be showing the beginning stages of metabolic bone disease. hopefully it has not led to any complications!

other than that, everything looks great and you will learn a lot from these sites!

Click to expand...

I replaced the light upon getting them. (As I wasn't sure when it was replaced)
I hope she is fine. I do want to do the best by both of these guys. How can I tell if she does have MBD and what can I do to help her?

I shall stick around and listen adn learn. I have joined a few forums that are based here in the UK also but I am not getting advice just "yep looks good".

She tends to go up on the vine that goes under the light.. should I sit it a bit higher as she is about 3 inches max from it as it is.

Sorry to be such a pain... but I really want what is best for my chams!

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/supplements.html

-Brad

cheers..
I am dusting and she loves kale and dandelion leaves.
I shall continue this.
I am going to watch her. I just hope I do everything right.

Brad, I do love the site!! I have sat here all day reading it. (legs are now numb hehe)

is your measurement from the UVB tube right to the top of where your chameleon's head is? 3" may be too close. i believe that UVB lights have a 'burn in' time and should be placed slightly further away in the first week or so because they tend to have more powerful radiation. i think that i read that you've had them for about 3 weeks so it is probably past that time.

the best way to figure the measurements out are at this site:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubemeshtests.htm
and another that directly compares the 5.0 repti-sun and repti-glo:
http://www.martinsreptiles.co.uk/ukchams/intro_uvlighting_tests.pdf

so in conclusion, it seems that you should try to have about 6-8" from the bulb to where the top of your chameleons head would be if you use a reflector. i just took some aluminum foil and folded it lengthwise, curved it a bit, and placed it in the fixture behind the bulb. it is the cheapest way to maximize UVB

Thanks!
I hope it is helpful.
Nothing new for awhile but I'm working on some new articles.
Better get up and take a walk or something

-Brad